


The Parting Gift

by LonelyLimbs



Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:41:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 19,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22677337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LonelyLimbs/pseuds/LonelyLimbs
Summary: When she returned from the Devildom, she did not return empty handed. Something dark and unfamiliar threatens her way of life, something she may not be able to survive.A sickness, an illness that one of the demon men unknowingly gave to her. Was this to be the price she paid for loving the devil?
Relationships: Asmodeus (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Beelzebub & Main Character (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!), Belphegor (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Leviathan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Lucifer (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Mammon (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s), Satan (Shall We Date?: Obey Me!)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 69
Kudos: 305





	1. Leaving Home, Returning Home

How turbulent her year had been. The descent into something of an infatuation with a world she had never previously known was so strong it made her cry. 

An activity she’d been partaking in quite often since her return from Devildom.

She had been home, her original home of the human realm, for little over two months. It was a difficult one, and if she were to be completely honest, she wasn’t sure if she’d left Hell or brought it with her. After all, her time spent in the Devildom was graced with the presence of a dark heaven. 

Lucifer would be lying if he said the time spent apart from her was not hard to stomach. In fact, it was torture. He felt like a part of him was lost, even though he knew exactly where it was. This displacement was not unfamiliar to him; Lilith had stirred similar feelings when she spent the last of her life roaming the earth, happily he’d hoped.

What she assumed the boys didn’t realise is that with her return, she would have to find a way to adjust to the life she’d been ripped from so suddenly. Friends that she had suddenly left for a year that were, understandably, upset at her absence and lack of contact. Her family, who had only been made aware of her ‘location’ via a letter left at her apartment. They too, were unhappy with her sudden disappearance, but after she had the time to try and explain to them her circumstance, were a little more forgiving. Of course, for fear of seeming deranged and unstable, she did not divulge the fact that she had been in Hell. Instead, she simply said to her mother that she had embarked on a year long exchange to a very prestigious and very isolated academy, studying religion and culture. 

It was the best she could do with the experience she had been given.

What she did with herself now? Well, she was determined not to put her life on hold, not to let herself become a lady in waiting. While her love was deep and unending, her life was short and dedicating it to simply waiting would not suffice.

She learnt to cook, a skill she would surely take back to Devildom the next time she was afforded the opportunity to visit, and cook for Beelzebub all she had learnt. She made and bought little gifts and trinkets for the boys, for when she one day set her gaze upon them again.

But she also did more for herself. 

On this particular day, 57 days after her return from Hell, she was out in a shopping mall, acquainting herself once more with the familiar feel of earthly ways of life. A year in hell was a year of not only a different race, culture, language, but state of being. While it had its similarities (such as schooling, something that surprised her even after a year of engaging in it) Hell was certainly something she had to adapt to, and now she had to re-adapt to her previous life.

She was accompanied by her mother, who was determined to spend as much time with her newly returned daughter.

“Oooh how about this one?” Her mother hummed, holding up a dress from a few meters away. It was the sound of a good find, something her mother was sure she would find appealing.

“Yeah, that _is_ nice,” she nodded in agreement, joining her mother in admiring the outfit. It was nice, being with her family again. She missed them so wholeheartedly, it ached as much as being apart from her little demon family did since she’d been home. She cherished her mother’s smile, especially since being in Hell had reminded her of her mother’s mortality, as well as her own.

Her fingers lightly drifted over the fabric, silky, black and light. It was a floor length dress, casual and airy. They were just browsing, no particular occasion, but she could imagine all the events she would wear it to had she found such an item in Hell.  
While she tried to avoid wrapping her mind around her demon friends left behind, she couldn’t help but wonder if they would have liked it. 

It wasn’t as if she would never see them again, because she certainly would at some point in her life. It was the inability to see them immediately, to share with them aspects of her life and be a part of theirs. 

There was a pain in her stomach, an unusual twist, and she wondered if her heart had migrated it’s ache into her stomach. Maybe the hurt of missing them was slowly consuming her.

But after the second, more painful instance of this sharp twist of pain, she knew it couldn’t be a manifestation of her feelings, but rather in all actuality a physical issue. 

Clutching at her stomach, she leaned into the pain, wincing and breathing out with confusion painted across her features. She felt the comfort of her mother’s hand on her back, accompanied with the worry and panic only a mother can shed.

“Are you okay?!”

“Yeah,” she reassured, raising a hand to her mother and waving her off, trying to quash the worries. “I just feel nauseous is all, like my stomach just _crushed_ itself.”

Her mother frowned in response, knowing that certainly wasn’t normal for any sort of sickness or situation.

“Is it hunger pains? Or maybe did you catch something while you were on your exchange? You were in a very remote area, there could be very uncommon illnesses that your body isn’t equipped for.”  
Her mother’s explanation was both incredibly logical, and incredibly terrifying because it was in the realm of possibility. There was an instance in her stay that Lucifer was unwell, and if what she had was even remotely similar, if it was something able to render a demon bedridden, what hope did she have of fighting it? 

The thought was soon shook from her head, thrown out in anxiousness. She couldn’t think like that. She wasn’t usually one to jump to conclusions, but prior to her yearlong exchange, she wasn’t one to be particularly interested in the dealings of angels and devils, so she had done some changing in her stay.

“I just need to go to the bathroom,” she huffed through another sharp pain, letting her feet move seemingly on their own, her mother trailing behind her closely and cautiously. She was guided to the nearest bathroom, where she locked herself in the stall and sighed. It was less than satisfactory, to be throwing up in public, but it was better in the bathroom than on the nice silken dress she’d admired only moments ago.

That sigh would prove to be her undoing, prompting a dizzying bought of sickness. She wretched into the toilet, convinced she was throwing up her entire stomach. She felt her nose burning and her throat pleading for relief from the acidic scorch of the contents of her stomach, almost choking her and bringing her to her knees. 

None of these worried her though.

What worried her was the swirl of crimson that steadily turned clear water dark. She had thrown up **blood**.

And a lot of it too.


	2. A Visitor Most Welcome, Yet Not So

Slight buzzing, a ticking clock, stark white light. All these things made up the tense environment of a general practice. She tapped her heels together while the physician scanned over the results of a blood test she’d taken a week prior.

“Your bloods are generally fine, but there is a little bit of concern with your B Cells. These particular blood cells here are for your immune system, and they’ve been completely wiped out.”

The physician took his chained glasses from his face and let them fall across his chest, clasping his hands together and sighing. “This may be a case of immune amnesia, something we know a few illnesses can do, but I think we should take a very cautious stance with this, as I think it may require a bit more of a steady eye. I’ll make a referral to a gastroenterologist, who will be able to check out the affected area in a little more detail.”

He explained that they were worried about the vomiting of blood she’d encountered, but she had been to the ER when the incident had first arose and nothing seemed too out of place, so it was just a matter of finding out what it was that was plaguing her.

She didn’t know what it was, but she was certain they would not know what it was. After all, human doctors and medical experts were rarely, if ever, educated in the way of demonic flus and viruses.

Clutching the referral and walking herself to the nearby train station, she wondered what it could possibly be that was causing her weakened state and strange symptoms. Exhaustion was all she really felt in this moment, following her on her journey home, dusting the world in a sleepy haze that bade her to just sleep, and find comfort in unconsciousness. They were thoughts and feelings that ran through her head all the way to her apartment, a little dazed but all together feeling better than she had at the beginning of her ordeal.

She found no trouble climbing her stairs, inputting her code and unlocking her door. The trouble came when the door was open.

If she hadn’t of looked up, she never would have noticed the small figure occupying her couch, glancing at the world around him with such curiosity.

She gasped, at first, before gathering her senses and calling out to him.

“L....Luke?!”

At his name, he turned with such wide eyes, fear filling them up rapidly. He jumped up, quickly joining her side and taking her hands. She’d never seen her celestial friend in such disarray, his thoughts and feelings clearly uncontrollable and in a state of overwhelmed fray. 

He whispered her name in such terrible gloom that she almost thought she was about to die. Maybe she was.

“You are in danger,” he frantically exclaimed, before another voice cut him off, grave and solemn.

“You’ve been infected, dear one.”

The rich, glowing skin of Simeon reached out to also lay touch on her hand, as she looked on in heightened confusion.

“What are you both doing here, what do you mean ‘infected’?”

Luke and Simeon shared a glance, the seriousness in their eyes only bringing her more fright and anxiety.

“I think it best if you sit down,” Simeon said soberly, motioning for her couch.

She was sure this was not to be good.


	3. Darkness is so Enticing

She hadn’t messaged or called in over five weeks.

Lucifer could only be led to believe two things happened; she broke her D.D.D, or she broke herself.  
He was certainly sure of which one he hoped it would be. The others hadn’t received anything from her either, and they too shared concern in her state of being.

“I think I might go visit her,” Beel announced at the dining table, having hardly touched his food all night. Those who were eating came to a halt, and Lucifer swore he almost choked. Of course, Lucifer had been to the human world before, with Satan, Mammon and her. But it was not a matter of just popping in and out. Demons did not often walk among the humans, and to do so without much thought would be reckless, given demon nature.

“Have you thought about this Beel? What if you get hungry, human food is okay but I don’t think it’s enough to sustain you,” Belphie pointed out, putting a hand on Beel’s shoulder in support. “I understand you’re worried for her, but you have to think this out first.” Beel shared a look with Belphie, knowing Belphie only had his best interest at heart but ultimately not understanding the lengths Beel would go to for her.

“I would go through the pain to make sure she’s alright,” Beel quietly responded, and if the others didn’t know any better, they’d say a slight blush was flooding the pale complexion of Beel’s cheeks.

“Belphie is right, navigating the human world is hard. It’s always changing, always different. You have to be careful, and I couldn’t let any of you go alone. I’m the most recent one to have gone, so I can go again if it will ease your minds,” Lucifer calmly presented the option, continuing his meal as he did so. His suggestion was met with a scoff from Mammon.

“Ha, you just want to spend time with her. Well nu uh, buddy, I’ll go. I was her first pact, so it’s a wonder she hasn’t found a way to summon me yet! I’ll go,” Mammon’s deceleration was proud and made with open palms slapping the table, standing up and pointing with accusation at Lucifer.

“We can’t trust you to go on your own, Mammon, you’d find a way to get yourself in trouble or killed within the first day,” Satan responded, not looking at the others but instead looking nonchalantly at his D.D.D.  
The fact was, Satan was far from calm, and in that moment he was messaging her, trying to get a response.

_**[To Drama Buddy: I hope you’re okay, we’re a little worried down here. You haven’t gone and gotten yourself killed have you? It would have to be annoying to try and visit you in the celestial realm.]** _

It was a message that would go unanswered.

“So who should go then?” Leviathan asked, everyone’s eyes searching for an answer amongst one another.

“Lucifer’s right. He’s one of the only ones who can control the portal to the human world, and he knows it fairly well. I think he should go,” Asmodeus confessed, earning a confused stare from his brothers.

“You’re not even going to try and say you should go? That’s not like you Asmo,” Mammon was open mouthed, shocked that his brother would say something that made so much sense.

“Well, as much as I would love to visit her and show her what she’s missing...this is serious. She always responds to me, to all of us, but she hasn’t and so this is no joking matter.” 

Lucifer nodded in response. He wouldn’t speak it aloud, but he was proud of Asmo, who could find the right moment to be straightforward and understand what was best for the situation. It would be untruthful for him to say he wasn’t surprised that a human could stir up this feeling of overprotective concern in the seven of them.  
She wasn’t just any human though, she was _their_ human.

Lucifer stood from his spot, stealing the attention of all the boys.

“I’ll go tonight.”

Bruises adorned and flowered across delicate skin, veins outlined in a sickly charcoal colour. They bloomed across her stomach, the source of the pain, and she inspected the new additions she’d gotten over the night.

Simeon stood behind her, hands on her shoulders, he too looking over the damage to her beautifully human body. He frowned with anguish, knowing this was only going to get worse.

“God made you perfectly imperfect. He made all humans this way, and so to see you in such pain is almost unbearable,” he murmured sadly into her hair, his warm breath against her scalp as he returned his lips on it, a small kiss he wished could heal his most unlikely of friends.

“I have to admit, wiping out my immune system so it couldn’t attack it was a very smart move,” she chuckled, attempting to conceal the cracks within her facade. She did not succeed.

Luke, who had just joined her side only to see the painful bruises, put a hand on her cold stomach, looking up to her like a light that shone too bright.

“We can find a way to make you better, I p-promise,” he hiccuped, not even trying to avoid the thick tears that sparkled within his heavenly eyes. She could have weeped then and there, unable to fathom the thought of tears falling from angel eyes. Her hand cradled his cheek, about to respond when a knock on her front apartment door echoed through the space of the apartment, taking her thoughts away and leaving her with new ones, questions as to who was visiting. 

She didn’t even have time to process what was happening, when both angels had left her and made their way to the door. They had been this way since they’d arrived five weeks ago, every visitor being greeted with the ethereal image of two men, one short but equipped with a scowl, and the other with deep eyes and a smile that caught you off guard.  
Her mother, who visited regularly, was at first thrown off by the greeting of two strange men, before thanking the two profusely for being good enough friends to come all the way from their homes watch her, believing they’d come from another country where she had been told by her daughter her ‘exchange program’ was held.  
Her mother really didn’t know the half of it.

Simeon clutched the door handle to the front door, as she stood back in the frame of her bedroom, peering out slightly to see what it was that disturbed their moment of gloom (a welcome distraction).  
  
As soon as the door open, her heart stopped beating, or at the very least felt like it had. The flip in his hair, the black and red of eyes she could forever drown in.

It was **him** , and he was _here_.

“Lucifer...” she choked out quietly. She backed herself into her room more, unable to bring herself to stand before him. She was healthy, or at least humanly so, when she’d spent her time with them. Her skin was full and bright, her smile was wide and always ready to be given. He couldn’t possibly see her like this; Weak, sick, and most likely dying.  
  
It would break his blackened demon heart to pieces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your lovely feedback, it’s great to be getting it and seeing that you’re enjoying the work!  
> -Heaven


	4. When Angels Cry

Her heart beat heavily within the confines of her ribs, and she thought it would jump right out. Leaning against her wall, she listened intently, silently, while tears once more started flooding her eyes. She covered her mouth, afraid he could simply hear her breathing. Instead she opted for swallowing her sadness down for a moment so she could hear what was being said.

“I can’t say I’m displeased to see the two of you, R.A.D has felt somewhat empty without you both. I am surprised, however.” Lucifer’s deep voice wafted through the apartment, tempting her and teasing her. She wanted so badly to run to him, but knew better.

“I can imagine you are, Lucifer. But it is good to see you again,” Simeon spoke with such grace and light hearted tone that he was almost able to conceal the grave feeling that sat in his stomach.

Almost.

Lucifer was not deaf to the feeling that emanated from behind the kind facade. 

“So what are you doing here? I assume you’re the ones distracting her from messaging any of the boys back, they’ve all grown quite worried,” Lucifer gave a chuckle. He placed a hand on Simeon’s shoulder, stepping forward, but getting no further. 

Simeon did not move.

Luke had left the side of Simeon to slip into a room, leaving only the two of them in a heavy weight of tension and mystery.

“I’m sorry that these are the circumstances in which we reunite,” Simeon made a start, folding his arms and sighing, looking off out a nearby window. 

“We’ve been tasked with the protection and observation of her while in the state she’s in.”  
  


_The state that she’s in._

Lucifer felt his stomach churn, folding over itself and his mind numb at the words.

“Where is she?” His words were dark, full of a strangely calm panic. He began to push past Simeon, only for beautifully crafted hands to latch onto his arm.

The utter sadness in Simeon’s eyes were startling, throwing Lucifer off centre. Angels weren’t made to look so sad.

“I’m sorry, Lucifer. I truly am.”

Lucifer, feeling his balance beginning to shift, turned back to his determined path, calling her name. 

He turned into her doorway, only to be met with the sight of her standing behind Luke. The fear in Luke’s eyes when he turned to Lucifer was near enough to carve a hole through Lucifer’s very being.

“What’s wrong?” He whispered, looking into her eyes. They were without life, or spark. They had dark rings underneath and spoke volumes of the sickness she must have been experiencing. 

“Lucifer...you’re really here,” she whispered, afraid of the moment she knew was coming. The moment where he would inspect her body, trying to determine exactly what illness she’d been gifted from the demon realm, and find them. The bruises that scattered across her stomach would be painful enough to explain to him, without detailing the way she was often met with the sight of her own blood when she threw up. It was all information that would knock the life from him, and she could not prepare for that.

Luke held her hand while taking to her side, and Simeon leaning against the doorframe, soundless tears across his rich skin.

“The boys have been so worried about you. I’ve been so worried about you. Beel almost took matters into his own hands, he might have been here in my place if I didn’t remind him of his inexperience here. 

Tell me what’s wrong? If it’s a sickness from Devildom I will be sure to get you the best doctor in the entirety of hell.”

Luke squeezed her hand, looking up at her, waiting for a response.

Simeon hung his head, and instead of putting her through the agony of trying to find the words and stumbling, spoke from behind Lucifer. 

“We were sent here with the protection and observation of her during this state of being,” he repeated to begin his sentence, pushing off the door and turning around. He found it hard to face any of them while speaking on such a heartbreaking topic.

“But mostly just observational purposes. This is not something we can protect her against, as it is not something we have ever encountered. It’s nothing I’ve ever seen.

Father doesn’t speak to us all directly anymore, and it’s been a long time since he gave orders to us from his own mouth. The angels usually watch over everything. 

This task was given to us by Him. He has discovered this, and he is not at all pleased.”

Lucifer, fresh with questions and no answers, only the assumption that she did not have very long to live, took her face in his hands to wipe away the downpour from her eyes. This prompted the sobs she’d held silent to fall from her lips, looking not at him, but to the side, unable to face him.

Lucifer’s body was numb. Of all pain he had ever felt, this was surely the worst.

“I can’t lose someone I love. Not again,” he breathed. His pale complexion glinted under the shine of a tear, and Luke could no longer watch. He buried his head into her arm, weeping alongside her.

She took the hand comforting her cheek, and moved it to grasp the hem of her shirt. She would not be the one to reveal the extent of her torturous condition, instead letting him take it at his own pace. 

She held his wrist for support, fearing she would crumble into nothingness if she did not.

Slowly, Lucifer lifted the shirt, eyes growing darker at the very first inkling of a bruise. By the time the entire shirt was lifted, he had a full view of the new purple bruises that decorated her stomach, and yellow ones that she had been sporting for some time. Black spidery lines crawled from her stomach all the way up to her chest, disappearing deeper into her shirt.

Lucifer dropped to his knees before her, eye level with the stomach that seemed like a clock, counting down the time until her demise. Each bruise looked like a warning, one that echoed the throbbing pain in his heart. 

This is not something he’d seen in Devildom, and it was not something she would survive.

“When it comes time, we will take action. What worries us is if she does not live through this process,” Simeon finished, letting Lucifer figure them out in his own. He knew the confusion he would instil within the demon, but simply could not force himself to speak the truth into existence.

“Take action?” Lucifer repeated, tracing the evidence of her pain with a feather light touch, reminding her that he too was once an angel.

Under his gently fingers, he noticed something was terribly wrong with the area the bruises bloomed. There was a disfiguration in her body. The skin was taught, hardened, tense and felt painful to his touch, let alone what it must have been doing to her.

He let his entire hand flatten against her stomach.

Just as quickly as it touched, he ripped it from her as if burnt by the touch, standing up faster than she had ever seen him move, turning away and threading his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t breath, a full state of utter breakdown rocking his senses. He was destroyed by realisation, as if the entirety of all three realms descended upon him and crushed him many times over.

It had fallen into place as soon as his hand conformed to the slight roundness of her stomach. As soon as he’d let his skin lay itself against hers, feeling her in a way he had before, but being met with something **unfamiliar**. After knowing her so intimately, he was able to recognise when something was foreign, and the feeling he got from touching her  did not belong .

Because everything was clear.

He had done this.

This was the result of his love.

He was killing her with his adoration for her from the inside.

Because that’s where her ‘illness’ was growing from.

  
That’s where  _ it _ was growing from.


	5. Alone? No

He hadn’t spoken, he hadn’t uttered a single word. As soon as his skin melted into the shape of her stomach, he turned and did not look at her once more. As soon as his hand had felt the curve of her, her eyes had closed and she did not open them again, for she simply could not see the way he would look at her with pain, fear, or maybe even disgust. Her wet, warmed cheeks only became host to an onslaught of fresh new tears, thick and hot and unrelenting. 

She felt the presence of his hand remove itself from her and heard him stand. He must have turned away, because his erratic and overwhelmed breathing sounded distant. She had to say something.

“I’m sorry Lucifer, I love-“

She wasn’t afforded the opportunity to end her declaration, hearing footsteps from the room, that got further and further. The front door opened, and then slammed with such force she wondered if it had completely come off its hinges. 

Only then did she open her eyes, slowly, cautiously. 

He was gone.

As soon as this was confirmed to her, her hands searched for something to anchor herself to, as her voice tore through her throat weakly and loud, gasping sobs echoed in her room. She crumpled to the floor like paper, her hands gripping Luke’s arms. Her cries were reminiscent of a scream without power.

She was sure that she hadn’t felt ache like this before. Why did they call it heartache when her _entire body_ was enveloped in the throbbing and pounding?

Simeon stared off after Lucifer long after he had left, unsure what to make of his disappearance. Yet, for as strange as his sudden leave was, Simeon did know better. Simeon knew Lucifer better.

“He will be back, sweet one,” Simeon’s soft words were murmured against her forehead, as his thumbs wiped her cheeks with feather light touch and he crouched before her broken and beaten figure. “For all the time that I’ve known Lucifer, as Heaven’s most beautiful and Hell’s embodiment of pride, he has never abandoned a duty, a responsibility.”

Her quivering lips and trembling figure slowed just enough, that she could reduce her crying to quick, sharp intakes with small hiccups, looking at Simeon through red glassy eyes.

“But h-he fell f-from Heaven, he d-defied God?” She wondered, tugging on her sleeve and using it to soak up the wetness on her face.

“His duty was not to God. His responsibility was not for Heaven. His heart always had and always will belong to caring for his family.”

“But Simeon,” her quiet, melancholy voice filled him and Luke with such sadness, “I’m not h-his family.”

“You are more family to those seven boys than you will ever know. They regard you as family, in the way that you are not replaceable or interchangeable. You are a part of their long existences in a way that could never be replicated, as well as ours. We feel much the same. Unlike them, we regard you as close to a sister as anyone not of celestial creation could be. To them, you are the human, and the woman, that keeps them going, Lucifer possibly most of all.”

The comfort of his words stung, because she knew he was right, but was also still painfully aware of Lucifer’s current absence.

She fell asleep in the arms of an angel, a feat boasted by very few, and both Luke and Simeon lifted her from her position on the ground and stowed her away in her covers, letting her sleep off the agony of a terrible day that would be the prelude to a terrible few months.

She was 14 weeks past what she knew to be the time that this situation was created from. 

It was the night before she left Devildom. In those private moments, when she’d handed herself over to him in words of a pact and so much more. 

It was when he made her feel a love the movies and songs didn’t warn her about. 

Secretly, it felt forbidden to her. Not only was it the love of a demon, but it was so much and so beautiful, like an endless sunset sky. When Lucifer had held her, in the moments between the animalistic need, he had held her like she was his God, and he would worship all that she touched. 

These were the memories that played through her head as she slept almost soundly, an escape from the reality she had endured. But dreams do not last, and hers ended with his lips on her shoulder. Her eyes were slow to open, feeling swollen and heavy, surely a result of her crying.

In opposition to the warm happiness her dreams had her remember, she felt cold and empty, while reminding herself she was far from so. 

Her hand reached her belly, smoothing over the bump with small caresses. She was responded to with a kick, one that hurt and was sure to leave another bruise. She couldn’t tell if she was too weak to care, or if she actually appreciated knowing she was not alone.

Simeon and Luke had returned to the Celestial realm, she could tell as much from the single pure white feather that lay delicately placed on her bedside table. Being in the human world for too long was not good for them, as Angels were fragile creatures, despite the power they wielded. Humans, being much sturdier and without ethereal light inside, were able to survive down in Devildom and of course in their own realm. Angels were not so unbreakable, their divine energy both strong and inhibiting. While they could exist in the other realms, being there for too long provided a bizarre discomfort. It was one they had felt while in Devildom, not unbearable but not always pleasant. 

Lilith, having already been injured in the Celestial War, was far more prone to the effects of a foreign realm, and partnered with the injuries she had, was a recipe for death. 

Her two guardian angels would be back, it was only a matter of time. In the meanwhile, she sat herself up and looked across the hollow area she alone occupied. 

First thing was first: she needed to feel a cold splash of water across her stained face. She got up and took herself to the bathroom, tying up her hair and washing her face. The act was almost therapeutic, a care she hadn’t often taken for herself in these past few weeks. 

After this task was complete, she was made aware she was starving. Patting her face dry and abandoning the bathroom, she carried herself to the kitchen, every step reminding her she was here, she was going through the worst, but she was alive for now, and that had to count for **something**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your feedback. I hope this idea and it’s presentation have not lost any interest you may have previously held in this work, and that it continues to hold you captive to it’s storyline. I have been updating fairly regularly, and I’m not sure how long I will maintain this (at the moment I write whenever I get a chance) but will try to make it as constant as possible.  
> Again, thank you. For all the words I know, I could never successfully string them into a sentence describing how much I appreciate your feedback.  
> -Heaven


	6. Half of Who?

_Hatred_. Blinding, white, burning hatred. It’s almost as if he felt the same anger Satan had been born from, the same anger that caused his rebellion. 

And it was all for himself, a self loathing that took him over. 

He had retreated to the nearest empty space: a large park, emptying with the oncoming night, and found himself under a tree. His hands braced his body against a tree, his head hung. He rocked back and forth on his feet, unable to stand completely still. He was fighting back his demon form, for what good would it do? The only enemy he had was the one in the mirror.

“How could I be so...so _reckless_!” He growled to himself, unwilling to admit to the tears that crossed his cheeks. Bringing his fist back, he angrily pounded the tree, before resting his head on it.

He loved her. Oh god, he **loved her so much.**

He knew the others did too, but would never allow anyone to say they loved her more than he did, because in his eyes it simply was not true. 

Had he been able to have his time over, and was once again an angel, if she was in the place of Lilith, human or not he would rebel all over again. He would endure the painful fall, the head splitting feeling of horns coming through, the blackening of his wings. He’d do it all over again-no hesitation-to secure her safety. 

But this is not what he did, and nothing like what he could do. Because this problem was the result of this love, the product of his passion for her. He didn’t want to understand how loving someone so much could hurt them so badly, but he was all too aware. He should have assumed as much would happen, he was a demon. A sin, tall, dark and dangerous.

How had he not considered the implications? Demons did not create like humans did. Demons and devils were made, not born. 

He thought to himself how much he regretted sleeping by her side, wrapping his arms around her, but knew he couldn’t find it within him to truthfully regret it. He didn’t. She made him feel something his many thousands of years of living had never delivered. The way she was glowing in moonlight that night told him he made her feel the same.

Being with her was like being holy again, her love a religion and his bed a place of worship.

But she would have regretted it now, due to the circumstances. And he absolutely hated this, that he put her in a position to regret being with him, being his. 

Whatever this thing was, this monster he had spawned within her delicate and beautiful body, he had to find a way to be rid of it. Someone, somewhere would have to know a way to dispose of it. It didn’t belong in any of the three worlds, and it definitely did not belong within her. He would go to God himself and beg if it made any difference.

He was getting ahead of himself.

For starters, with the night rolling around, he had left her there, with the two angels. Just abandoned her.

It was only now that his self pity and anger took a sidestep, albeit small, to accommodate his guilt. How pathetic he would look to her, walking away from a problem he had caused, a pain he had inflicted in the throes of his pleasure.

Half an hour later, a knock rapped softly on the door, and she finally had an excuse to get herself up off the couch and answer it.

He was back. 

Sooner than she’d expected, though admittedly she had no clue as to how long she had slept. 

Taking in her image, he couldn’t help it. The determination and willpower he had stood at her door with faded into nothing, and he grasped her face, placing a less that gentle kiss on her lips. It was a kiss that screamed urgency, it was a ‘this-may-be-the-last-time’ sort of kiss. He kissed her lips like she was the oxygen he breathed and she felt it again. 

The love he had so boldly felt for her that night.

Now, Lucifer tried to wrap his thoughts around the idea of losing her. 

“I will pledge myself to whoever I can to fix this,” he promised her between frantic kisses, stealing them as if she would disappear right then and there. “I did it for Lilith, I will do it for you without hesitation.”

She believed he would, because she would do the same for him. Truth be told, she would do it for any of the brothers, but Lucifer...he was special.

She revelled in his affection, the way his skin felt on hers, as if igniting her all over again. Had times been different, and circumstances allowed, she would give herself into him all over again, even if she knew the consequences it would yield.

“I don’t know if we can ‘fix this’ Lucifer. I don’t know if it’s that easy,” she started. Her tongue couldn’t wrap around the words she wanted to say, the words that echoed in her heart.

She didn’t know if she _wanted_ to fix this.

“It isn’t easy at all, nor do we know if it could be done,” the returned voice of Simeon called, and Lucifer turned, his hands firmly on her shoulders and drawing her closer.

“We should all sit down, there is definitely talking to be had,” Simeon gestured for the couch, and they all made their way to sit down. “Luke isn’t here because I’m afraid he’d be tearful again,” there was a laugh mixed in with his words, and she could only smile in response. She brought her legs up onto the couch, one hand holding an ankle and the other her stomach.   
This did not evade Lucifer’s attention, giving an undetected glance toward her. It sat oddly within, seeing her cradle the source of her worries.

“The first thing I must tell you is that I was sent here because this child is unnatural.” 

It was the first time any of them had used the word, **child**. She had danced around the word, not knowing exactly what it was that her body played host to.

“Thing.”

Lucifer was not so quick to forgive. “It is a thing inside of her, a monster, and it is one we must get rid of.”

She shifted uncomfortably, and Simeon gave her a worried glance. She hadn’t told Lucifer what Simeon told her, or perhaps Lucifer had been out so long that she hadn’t had the chance. She knew why Simeon had been sent, and she knew what it meant for her life.

“We won’t be doing that until we find out what it is.  
You see, Lucifer, a theory has been devised by myself and other beings up in the celestial realm,” Simeon began, and he strangely seemed nervous. He was unsure of how Lucifer would take this assumption.

“This ch-... _it_ , was conceived by you, not made. It was created through very physical, very _human_ -like means. And when humans procreate, they pass on their DNA. For example, say you were born with blonde hair,” Simeon pointed to her hair for reference, to make his point, “and then you changed its colour, your offspring would not get your changed colour, but the blonde, right?” She nodded, but Lucifer did not budge, only let his gaze fall under his lashes, wishing Simeon to make his point. The idea that Simeon could stand to call it a child had Lucifer far on edge.

“Lucifer...you were not made a demon. You were made an angel. So, therefore there may be some possibility that what comes from her may be part angel and part human, not part devil and human.   
That is what we wish to observe.” 


	7. Purge the Sin

“Those are not the bruises of an angel. No angel would beat her so badly from the inside. And I haven’t simply ‘ _changed_ ’ my hair, Simeon, my entire **physiology** has been changed, and I have lived as a demon for thousands of years now. This thing is nothing but a monster and I will not sit around and let her die in order for _Father dearest_ to observe her like an experiment. She is no experiment, she is a human, she is _my_ human. I will hear no more of this,” 

Lucifer turned to her after his words for Simeon, only to be startled by her stance. She embraced her stomach, rubbing soft and gentle circles into it, and it took a short while for him to be hit with yet another realisation. Her position was far too protective of her stomach and not protective enough of herself, something that could be taken as a very telltale sign of her current mentality toward the whole debacle.

“No,” he groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose in utter exhaustion, his emotions being battered like a washing machine spin cycle, “no, no, no. Absolutely not.” Her name rolled from his tongue, as he crouched before her and clutched her knees. He let her name float in the space between them. 

She could not make eye contact. 

“This is not a child, this is not a human. This is your death. I’m sorry, I don’t think I could ever give you that sort of life. I can be yours forever and always, but this could never be _ours_. It is unnatural, and it will destroy you. I will not let anything destroy you. I would give my life before I let yours be taken.” 

She finally gathered the courage to look into his dark, crimson eyes, and she took his face in her hands. They were cold, and he cursed the parasite within her for stealing her warm touch from him.

“You already have given me this life, Lucifer, whether we intended to or not. And...I understand if you don’t want this, I understand if you’re not wanting to be a-...a father...or involved, but I don’t want to give up so easily on this. It seems...exciting. Gives me meaning. I can stay here and raise it, you’ll never even have to see it. I’ll...I’ll cut contact with Devildom forever, if that’s what you want.”   
She pleaded with him like she was bargaining for her life, and he was a little hurt that she would give him up for this thing that was more burden than beauty. She searched for answers, thinking that the removal of her would be the removal of the problem, when that couldn’t be further from true.

Lucifer hung his head, still nestled into her touch on his face, his own hands covering hers on his cheeks. 

“You misunderstand me.  I would give you anything you wanted, anything in my power to give, be it a child, or ten. I’ve lived many thousands of years, without the opportunity of a family. I never thought this was a life I could have so I never dwelled on it. Were I compatible with this life, I would want this life with you, and every other life we could possibly devise. I want you, in any way, shape or form I can have you.   
But this is no child, and this is no life I will happily be part of, because it would be a life without you.  Cutting contact with Devildom is not at option now or ever, because you have become too important to all of us. Too important to me. I will not give you up for this, and I will not let you deal with this problem _I_ have created all on your own.”

She removed a hand and placed it back on her stomach, looking down at it with such a loving eye that he almost forgot how to breath.

It was how she looked at _him_.

And so he knew that convincing her to think of herself first would be no easy task.

“You don’t know that I won’t make it through this. These bruises are from the kicking, and the blood-“

“Blood?” Lucifer interrupted, straightening his back and letting a knee fall to the ground.

“Oh, I-I’ve been throwing up blood, but it’s not as much anymore, I promise! Lucifer-!”

Lucifer had immediately strode away, pacing the space before her and Simeon, who shared a glance. The frustration radiated from him like a hot flame.

Simeon understood Lucifer’s stance, and in his full honesty, he thought the best option was exactly what Lucifer proposed. This unnatural creation seemed to be killing her and Simeon could not find anything good from the situation, anything that her wonderful human life would gain as a benefit. But he had orders, not only from his Heavenly Father, but from her as well. He knew it as well as Lucifer had found out; she was growing attached. 

It was only human of her to do so.


	8. Father Divine, Father of Mine

“There is nothing you can do to change my mind, Lucifer,” she whispered into the darkness, as his fingertips made light work of tickling her face, a tactic to bring her sleep she had suggested herself. Finding sleep with the baby within was difficult. Yet this was the first night he would have ever spent sleeping beside her in her own home, on Earth. She hoped this would be comfort enough to whisk her away into sweet dreams released of any pain.

She lay on her back with eyes searching the ceiling, and he sat in a small chair beside her, not ready to slip in beside her and reside so close to _it_ , but knowing he would give in to his desires sooner or later. He would, inevitably, end up beside her, cradling her. He just wished he wouldn’t also be cradling the thing.

“Now that it’s here, and it’s growing, and I _feel_ it...I don’t know. I feel closer to you. I understand if you think this is moving too fast. You probably never even wanted children.  
But I love you. And...I want to try this.  
If you don’t, I’ll understand, but I want to be given the chance to feel what this is like, what this experience is.”

She had never truly said it before, those three words that had his heart in a flurry. Never with such confidence and certainty in her own words had she said it, or had those words stood alone, not mixed in with a laugh or the result of a joke. They were words specially crafted from her beautiful voice just for him.

_ She loved him. _

His pride was inflating with every confession of adoration she made for him, and while he knew she liked him- there was no denying the pull they felt for one another while in Devildom- the idea that he could be loved was a stranger of a concept. It took everything in him not to dwell on it for fear of a great distraction from the matter at hand. 

“There are things you have yet to think about. It’s lifespan may be that of a human, or of a demon. Assume we do not remedy your mortality in order for you to stay with us...with me, forever. He may be immortal and outlive you. Then, not only will I be left without your presence, so will the...the child. Or the very opposite may happen, you may outlive him, and I don’t know if I can see you go through such heartbreak.”

In the shine of the moon from her window, he noticed a smile on her lips. “What?”

A yawn escaped her weary lips, before she shifted to face him, on her side and eye lids flittering in a sign of sleep to come.

“ _He_. You said he,” she murmured, snuggling her head into her pillow. 

“Besides, of course we will find a way for me to stay with you forever. I want forever with you. If we are to find a way to create a demon out of a human, I may not ever have a chance like this again, and this is a very human experience.”

Damn her and her persuasive tongue. She was right. If she were to become something more, she may never have human experiences such as this ever again. And he couldn’t take that away from her so selfishly, so easily, because she didn’t ask to fall in love with him. She may have had dreams that were alive before she had the knowledge of him, and to deny them would be a selfishness he couldn’t push upon her.

“Lucifer Junior. My little Morningstar,” was the last of her mumbles, before she was out for good, and Lucifer could only watch on as she fell soundly into slumber. 

How gloriously exquisite she was, so unafraid, so willing. She was aggravating, so stubborn, but so full of a love he thought he’d never find again, a love he remembered from his time as a celestial being.

This thing growing in her stomach had the capacity to steal her life and all she could do was call it by affectionate names, expecting its arrival with open arms.

Maybe he did underestimate her. Maybe this was a storm she was capable of weathering.  
Yet, it was not a maybe he was willing to risk. If only one was to survive this ordeal, he would do everything in his power to ensure it was her.  
He could not lose her so easily.

Leaving her side and opting for space to think, Lucifer walked out into her lounge, slumping down onto the couch beside where Simeon looked out a window across the room, the moon bright and reminiscent of his home.  
"I know you're frightened of what this may do to her. She is very much in danger, no matter what it is within her. They are both too powerful to be contained within a mere human.  
I agree. This should be dealt with in order to preserve her life. Yet, Father does not seem to think so."

Lucifer sensed something in Simeon, something he recognized all too well.   
There was **doubt**. Simeon doubted his Father above, doubted that this was the best option. Lucifer's own doubt rocked him like a buried memory, recalling how he too had dared to question the judgement of God.  
  
"I do not regret falling. For every century I live, every millennia I see go past, I do not believe in His so called ' _plan_ '," Lucifer admitted, earning a chuckle from Simeon. There was something calming in the ability to speak freely before one another. They had known one another for a very, very long time, and so while they were no longer of the same bodies, and same minds, they were of the same connection. Simeon still regarded Lucifer kindly, with appreciation.  


"You've not changed much, Lucifer. You've still got light within you, even if you wish to deny it. Maybe it took meeting her for you to see it."

"I can't do this, Simeon."

The sudden confession had Simeon finally looking toward Lucifer, who leaned forward onto his knees, as if in deep contemplation. He pressed his hands to his lips, and let his thoughts find Simeon. "I'm not a father. I'm not a family person.   
I care for my brothers.  I love her. But these do not translate to father. I'm a demon, what sort of father could I possibly be?"  


Simeon's hand had no hesitation when resting on Lucifer's shoulder.   
  
"You can not let your bad experiences be the way you shape your future. I know your relationship with the divine Father is not one you remember with fondness. But I **believe** in you and your capacity to be a good person. Wait, I suppose that isn't right, is it? A good _demon_ , I should say. Who knows, if it is a demon, you can teach the child your ways with the help of your brothers."  
  
They both laughed, and it was a sound so delightful, so beautiful, anyone listening would think they had ascended into their own personal heaven on Earth. 

"There is no need for a child as _stupid_ as Mammon roaming the expanse of Devildom, which is why I suppose I should be glad I was the one to create this. Any of the others replicated as a child would bring a whole new **torturous** element to hell, they surely would be no competent father," Lucifer shook his head while smiling so genuinely, so brightly in the dimmed light. 

"You've cared for your brothers, shaped them into those they are today. You care for them so deeply, it's very obvious. If you care for this child half as much as you do your brothers, it will be one very loved being."

"If it doesn't kill her before it's born. I don't know if I could love the thing that kills her," Lucifer sighed in response. Simeon nodded, turning the words over in his head, and looking back out to the distant moon.

"Understandable."


	9. Calm before the Storm

Days turned into weeks, and in those weeks she grew and grew. The child within her-she’d now permitted herself to call a baby- had began to bring less damage upon her body, for which she was ever grateful. For the first 17 weeks of this growth, the child would kick her into exhaustion, bruised and beaten from within. But after the 17th week, she had not felt the pain as often. It would be a worse pain than before, but it’s frequency lessened, and that was a gift to her.

Lucifer, while still not sold on the idea at all, did all he could in his power to find her comfort. She was in no state to travel, and so taking her to Diavolo would not be an option. Diavolo himself was far too busy running the world below to see this situation with his own two eyes.

However, the boys were not. 

They were not to come all at once as per Lucifer’s request, not wanting to overwhelm her with the disturbance of 6 rowdy and uncontrollable demons. Heaven forbid one of them lose their temper at one another while in her presence and stress her to no end.

He did, however, allow them to visit one by one, and the first one to step through her door was Asmodeus. He was, after all, incredibly curious about what situation Lucifer had found himself in.

“So, you two really did it, huh?” He asked, his gentle hand on the heel of her foot, while the other steadily painted the nails on her toes a deep red. She lay on her back, while he sat with crossed legs on her couch, and the two enjoyed time alone. Simeon found himself coming in and out of the human world, trusting the capabilities of the demon brothers to help watch over her, but still keeping an observant eye.

“Considering I’ve swollen up like a balloon, I don’t think I can lie to you,” she airily said, happiness lacing her words. 

Asmodeus could not say he wasn’t worried. As much as her happiness was infectious, his concern for her health was too great, and all the brothers shared the concern for her life.

“Of course, I’m very upset that I wasn’t the first to be able to show you the pleasures a demon can bring,” Asmo started, pouting and drawing his attention away from his painting. “Sure, Lucifer _may_ be such a tall order of luxury, but nobody can pleasure like moi!”

This time her laughter was full of heart, shaking her whole body. She quickly reigned it in and apologised to a serious looking Asmodeus, who let his grip on her heel tighten, a silent bid to stop moving. 

“No matter, we can have fun once this whole thing is over. Of course, I will _not_ make the same mistake Lucifer did.” Asmodeus stopped, tapping his chin with the back of his hand thoughtfully, still holding the nail polish. “Actually, now that I think about it, a little me would mean twice the beauty to go around. Who couldn’t get enough of me, let alone me and my perfect child?”

She shook her head, with strong disagreement to the idea. 

“I don’t know if I could go through this all over again, it’s proven hard enough the first time. If I had a child with you too, who knows? It might set the wrong example for the others, that I go carrying people’s children freely and willingly. I mean, can you imagine it? One child for each brother, so fourteen of you demon children? Nope, not happening.”

Asmodeus let out a huff, tapping her foot with playful offence at the implication that he and his brothers were children, then nodding and finishing up the painting. 

“I guess you’re right. I don’t think I could do children any-who, they’re too smelly and dirty. 

If you thought any one of us brothers would have a demon child, which brother would you guess? I wouldn’t pick Lucifer for a father type, initially,” he asked, blowing softly on her nails, tickling her feet with the slight breeze.

“I think if any of you boys were to be a father, it would be Beel,” she began, before her voice trailed off into a quiet hum. Asmo stopped drying her painted nails and let her foot join the other in his lap, his whole body slumping.

“I’m sorry he hasn’t been around to visit. _Mammon_ , I understand, he can be too pigheaded for his own good. Anyone who didn’t know us would think _he_ was the avatar of envy instead of Leviathan. But I didn’t think Beel would react the way he has.”

Beelzebub did not take the news lightly, nor had he spoken to Lucifer since finding out. Nobody knew why, because he had filled his arms with snacks and food, and proceeded to lock himself in his room. He only spoke to Belphegor, and even so it was only brief sentences, words and solemn nods.

Beel himself could not tell anyone he was heartbroken. All of the other brothers liking her was something he could deal with. Who wouldn’t like her? She was kind, caring, understanding. She forgave Belphie when he had tried to kill her, and helped him reconnect with his brothers. She had brought Belphie back to him, and since her arrival, Beel’s life had been so much more cheerful.

Hearing her body had been plagued by his brother with something that was causing her pain...Beel couldn’t bring himself to witness it. There was also something about the idea of her carrying Lucifer’s offspring that felt so personal, so intimate, Beel would never be able to compete. He would be content with being her friend, and caring for her deeply as he knew he always would, he just...needed time. His heart needed time.

Mammon, of course, had not visited her out of the same jealousy Beel would not admit to, but instead of isolating himself, had taken his anger out on Lucifer.

He had yelled all the things Lucifer had already screamed at himself inside whenever he looked in the mirror.

Mammon questioned how Lucifer could be so careless, how he could not think before he hurt her, and was so selfish with her weak little human body.

It was only when he noticed how Lucifer didn’t respond, only hung his head in shame, that Mammon stopped berating him, and sympathised instead. But for all the sympathy he felt, he couldn’t guarantee his anger and his greed for her affection would be quelled when seeing her. So he opted to keep the stress of his jealousy out of her already hectic days.

She couldn’t stand not seeing them, not smiling with them. This situation would change things forever, and while she wasn’t sure if she wanted things to change at all, she accepted the challenge this child brought her.

“I wish I could say you look brilliant pregnant, you really don’t. It doesn’t become you, simply for how rough it’s been on your poor skin. That’s not something a clay mask can fix,” Asmo was brutally honest, gesturing to her stomach while beginning to paint his own fingernails. She gave him a gentle kick, a smile taking her lips before she rolled to her side and shifted herself into a sitting position.

“I’m definitely not the glowing type of pregnant, am I?”

“Well, you _are_ possibly carrying a **demon** child, so credit where credit is due. If it was an angel, there’d be no excuse for the dark under eyes and the patchy skin.”

“Asmo, I think a child’s a child, no matter what race. They’re all difficult,” she rolled her eyes and stood, retrieving food.

“Not everybody carries the child of a demon, though,” Asmodeus reminded. She simply hummed and let the beginnings of a smile tug her lips.

“I guess I’m not everybody then.”


	10. Public Disturbance

Simeon was no doctor, and nor was any one else surrounding her for that matter. She hadn’t been able to see regular human doctors, as the situation would not permit it. She simply trusted the words of the angels and demons, doing her own research in tandem. Her mother and family, who had by now been made aware of her pregnancy, all did their best to guide her through as well. They would have no idea of what race this child was, assuming she would birth a healthy human baby, but she figured that they didn’t need to know, not until the child was born.

From what she could gather, not only by her long nights scouring through the internet, or advice from her mother, but simply looking in the mirror, the baby was well on the way to seeing the world soon. 

She felt so heavy, so drained. 

But being in the one place all the time was beginning to feel like torture.

  
While she was eager to go out, she had always stopped short of her front door. What stopped her, she couldn’t say. She was afraid of seeing the outside world in this new body. She didn’t know how to navigate it all the same.  
But she had to.  
She’d gotten as far as allowing herself the reach of her apartment building’s small courtyard that resided at the entrance, but that was it. Being in her apartment all the time was maddening, and she was surprised she’d made it so long. Her only relief had been the visitors that came and went, all of angel, human or demon nature.

“Will you allow me to join you, make sure you’re well for the day?” Lucifer asked, before another voice chimed in.

“Yes, I too would like to accompany you. I’m curious as to what shopping is like in the human world,” Satan added to the conversation, taking hold of her arm and looping it over his own. “I’m also curious as to what books you mortals have to offer.”

She nodded while tightening her grip on Satan’s arm, leaning in to bump her head on his shoulder playfully. 

“Why don’t we just leave you in the bookshop for the entire day, that’s sure to busy you. Ah but then again, there might be a cat cafe somewhere in the city...”

“Say no more. Hurry up Lucifer, we’re leaving immediately.”

Satan’s feet began moving and he had her stumbling along too, as she looked back and laughing airily to Lucifer.

“I think he means business, you’d better start walking.”

They had all inevitably found themselves in a bookshop, as not only Satan’s but Lucifer’s curiosity got the better of the two, and they had a tunnel vision mentality for the written word.

“Ooh this is a good one, very highly regarded in the human world. This is the complete works of William Shakespeare, something very standard to start your introduction to humanity and it’s writings,” she explained, holding in her hands a leather bound, gold leafed book, thick and ornate.  
“His works were mostly plays, tragedies and comedies. His most famous would have to be Romeo and Juliet,” her fingers caressed the pages, before wiggling between them to open up to a random page. She then navigated her way to the beginning of Romeo and Juliet, handing it over to Satan.

“Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene,” he began, giving a small reading between bookshelves and stands. “From ancient grudge, break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; whose misadventured piteous overthrows, do with their death bury their parents’ strife-“

“ _Wait_ ,” Lucifer interjected, leaning up against one of the bookstands and listening intently. “So this man tells you all that is going to happen before you actually get to see it happen? Why? How can you enjoy it when you know what happens? Surely he isn’t going to spoil the entire play in this one beginning passage?”

“Well,” she spoke while in thought, trying to find the words to convey her own feelings on the subject. “You only partly know what happens, really. Shakespeare only tells you that there are two warring households and two of their children die because they fell in love. There’s obviously things that happen in between, so you watch the play to find out how they die and the events leading up to it.”

“I see, that does make sense. It keeps you on edge knowing their end but _enduring_ their beginning,” Lucifer pondered aloud with words so smartly strung together, peering over Satan’s shoulder to continue the passage.  
She turned and retrieved another book from the shelves, reading to them the names and giving a brief summary.

“Arthur Conan Doyle, he wrote Sherlock. It’s a very famous fiction about a detective, the smartest detective alive. They made a show about it actually. Well, they make a lot of shows about a lot of different classic works.”

Tucking the book under her arm, another was slid from its place and into her sights. “Oh, and this is Jane Eyre, she wrote Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, stuff like that. Pride and Prejudice is good, it’s all about economic and social class, as well as love.”

She went to turn and pass the books to Satan, letting him skim his eyes over them too. He surely would find interest in these books, and she had the right kind to try and find quite a few for him, seeing how quick of a reader he truly was-

  
Time slowed, or at least, it seemed to, as if the world moved in half pace. The book teetered on her tip of her finger, dangerously toying with gravity. Slowly, it tipped the edge, falling toward the ground before being swooped up by Lucifer’s fast and reflexive hands.

The book, however, was not what he nor Satan had their attentions caught on.

Pain. Hot, searing, and all encompassing. She felt it rip through her like a chainsaw, aggressive and merciless. She let out a pained gasp, her breath cut short and her knees falling weak to the feeling. One arm came to cradle her stomach, the other reached out for someone- _anyone_ -unable to see through the tears that blurred her vision in reaction to this sudden onslaught.

She was caught by both men, who had put their books somewhere behind them in order to catch their delicate human.

“What’s wrong?!” Lucifer only just managed to get out, flustered and concerned. For the first time ever, while an answer was obvious, it alluded him. Or perhaps he wanted to ignore it. He was shaken, and it removed him from his normal, logical self.

“ _It’s coming_ ,” Satan said lowly, before another voice from within the store piped up.

“Someone call this woman an ambulance, she’s going into labour!” A customer, an onlooker. The store clerk, a young woman behind a large desk, leaned over to witness the commotion and, realising there was a pregnant woman who in fact seemed to be ready to pop, reached for the phone immediately.

No longer could she stand on her own two feet, Lucifer and Satan easily bearing the load of her and the child. Lucifer moved his hands to under her legs, and whisked her up into his arms, frantic eyes washing over her face, her body. He heard a gasp, a human nearby, who was nearby Satan. They tapped him on the shoulder, and once his attention had been gained they pointed to her pants and the ground. 

“I don’t think the baby has made it,” they whispered from behind Satan with a melancholy he did not reciprocate. He looked over the blood that covered her and the floor where she had stood.

In secret, he had read about human pregnancy, and what a normal one would look like. This human with concern enough to alert him of the blood would not be expecting such a sight, instead expecting her ‘waters to break’. If this were a normal pregnancy, blood would be the telltale sign of loss.  
But this was no normal pregnancy, and Satan was promptly reminded of that.

He leaned in to Lucifer, capturing his shoulder and whispering in a low and rushed tone.

“She can’t go to a hospital, we don’t know what it is and the medical examiner’s definitely won’t know.”

Satan was right, there was some danger in letting her into the hands of other humans. Their inexperience with the demon world would prove a hinderance to both her and the baby.

“It’s okay!” Lucifer declared, a calm voice escaping his panicked mind. “I’ll take her, the hospital is just around the corner. Don’t call the ambulance, they won’t come in time.”

He strode out of the bookstore with rushed strides, holding her tightly and with Satan on their heels. They ignored the looks, the stares, making a beeline for her car.

They were not going to the hospital. They had to take her home.  
She needed to be at home.

This baby was coming out **today**.


	11. With These Hands

She would be eternally grateful that her bathroom was facing away from her neighbours, and that it shared no wall with any of them. Her screams and her agony did not need to be questioned by any next door. 

No, instead her apartment and her neighbours apartment were opposite one another, giving her ample room between the two to scream in the farthest area. 

Just in case, however, the boys had done their best to sound proof the room and absorb her pain, in preparation for the birth. 

They just hadn’t expected it to be early.

She lay on the cold floor, thankful too for its icy touch, as her whole body felt like it was enveloped by fire. Is this what hell’s punishment felt like? Those who were cast down there, not as an exchange student but as a damned soul, would surely burn in the feeling she did.

Simeon ran his hand up and down her bare leg, with a self contained nervousness, but a calm demeanour feigned just for her. She pushed, and he supported her, taken aback by it all. The celestial war had been brutal, had been bloody, but this was... **something else**. Her perfectly white floor-reminiscent of his home- was splattered with the red of her veins. He knew about the reproduction of humans, he wasn’t completely isolated up in his heavenly realm. It was a lot to take in hands on, however.

Lucifer, Satan, Belphegor and Asmodeus all sat in the lounge, cast out by her insecurities and concerns despite the situation she was in. She couldn’t have them see her like that, and she couldn’t worry them with the anguish on her face. Besides, she much preferred the attitudes and auras of an angel, who would calm her and help her through the stress. It’s what she needed and wanted from this moment.

As they waited, all in various states of anxiousness- Lucifer pacing about, Asmodeus playing with his hair, while Satan and Belphegor lowly talked to one another and updated Leviathan who found the whole ordeal too queasy- the door burst open, spilling from it a white haired mess of uncoordinated energy. 

“Is she-“ Mammon panted, huffed and burnt out by his running to her place. He didn’t finish his words, cut off by the muffled yet distinguishable scream of her.

“Yes, she is currently bringing it into the world,” Satan responded, looking to Mammon and then to the direction she was situated.

Eyes locked. An older and younger sibling, abundant in years of strife and fighting, anger and grudges. Lucifer and Mammon held a wary gaze for sometime. Lucifer, in an unexpected first move, strode toward Mammon. Instinctually, Mammon let one foot behind him as if ready to run, fearful out of habit. But, instead of a blow or a scolding, Lucifer brought Mammon into something much more impactful: his arms, a tight hug taking Mammon by surprise.

“Thank you for being here Mammon,” Lucifer murmured into Mammon’s shoulder before regaining himself and stepping back, holding Mammon at arms length. There was a fear that Mammon had felt before buried within Lucifer’s eyes. It was a fear of the unknown, something their fall from grace had thrown at all of the brothers.

“This must have ya going crazy if you’re huggin’ me,” Mammon mumbled with shock and awe melded onto his warm skin.

Hours upon hours, pain following pain. Beautifully rich skin was slick and shining with deep scarlet blood all the way up to Simeon’s elbows, while she continued to struggle. 

Her screams were sometimes intermittent with words, garbles, and attempts at conversations (or more, updates).

“Is it coming?” She panted through tears and sweat, covering her eyes with her palms and centering herself somewhere within, pleading with herself to push through the pain.

“It is, you’re doing wonderfully. You’re so close,” Simeon comforted, and it was no lie. She was a mere few pushes left from birthing the child, the long wait finally resulting in the absence of this pain she’d been clawing her way through for so long.

“Simeon I can’t...I can’t do...thi...” her sobbed words went faint, as she almost drifted out of consciousness. The torment and torture this birthing process had brought her was almost too much for her weakened body to bear.

“Stay awake, you’re almost finished, you’re so close,” Simeon made gentle yet firm work of patting her leg, a bid to keep her eyes open and her mind present. It wasn’t working, and for the first time since she’d been carried through the doors, Simeon was openly panicking. He called her name a few times, the force in his urging doing nothing to keep her centred.

“Guys?! Someone get in here!” He yelled, hoping any one of the demon brothers would make their way in.

They all looked at one another for a moment of heart-stopping silence, before Lucifer made his way in long steps toward the bathroom. Eagerly, the boys followed behind, with Satan in front followed by Mammon and Belphegor, Asmodeus right at the back. 

Almost slamming the door open, they were met with the sight that looked like she’d been murdered. She was laid parallel, with her legs bent and Simeon between them. From his position in the ground, sitting on his legs, he held his arms out, the glinting blood catching all the brothers unguarded. 

“She’s falling out of consciousness, I think she’s lost almost too much,” he hastily informed. Lucifer came to his knees at her head, his hand cradling her cheek and attempting to capture her mind. 

“Hey, hey, stay here with me, come on. This is all almost over, you’re almost **free** of this.”

The others could not all cram within her bathroom, opting instead to squish within the doorframe to watch the scene unfold. Even Asmodeus, who was quite horrified by the blood and mess, was struggling to tear his eyes away, afraid that if he looked away it would be the last time he’d see her breathing.

Belphegor, in an attempt to aid the situation, raised his pillow above his head and called to Lucifer. It was tossed over Satan and Mammon, who occupied the doorframe, and slid under her head by Lucifer.

Mammon felt his heart falling, falling, as if out of his body and deeper than hell. She was fading, and soon she would be just a spirit, wandering the celestial realm. He was sure she wouldn’t be seen in Devildom as a spirit, her heart was too big, too full of love.

A sound rang through the bathroom, new and unfamiliar. Shrill screams of the newest member to occupy the room, light in tone and fresh to the world. 

The very first breaths of a baby. The first cries of new life.

Simeon took the baby in his arms, marvelling at this little wonder that she had created, admiring the time and effort that had gone into such a small being. The more he looked upon the baby, the more he came to realise how unexpected and fascinating it was. It was almost enough to make him forget the situation. But he didn’t, and he couldn’t. She still needed him. 

Quickly retrieving the prepared scissors and clamp, Simeon detached the baby from her and wiped it down briefly, before wrapping it up and gazing upon her, watching her eyes focus on nothing, her mind elsewhere.

“Take it, go,” Lucifer demanded with the wave of an arm toward Simeon, unable to listen to the cries of the baby as he watched life drain from her beautiful skin, unable to even look in the direction of her murderer.

He had made the mistake of falling into the same trap she had. He’d allowed himself to get too comfortable with the idea of this baby, concluding since she hadn’t died carrying it, it was not truly a disaster within. He had been wrong, and he’d realised it as soon as her grip on life had loosened and she was almost lost.

Simeon obliged, tightly holding the baby to his chest and rapidly leaving the room. Satan and Mammon decided to stay and join her side, kneeling next to her and paying no mind to the blood that spread across white tiles and their knees.

Belphegor and Asmodeus followed Simeon, curious to see the child and not wanting to overwhelm the situation. There was nothing they could do to help that Lucifer and Satan were already doing, and the pain of watching her in pain was not one they could ultimately bring themselves to suffer. They looked to Simeon, who after ensuring somebody had followed, handed Asmodeus the child.

“Care for the child, I need to be back in there.”

“B-baby...” she murmured in baited breathes, her eyes closed, blind to the world, but her fingertips searching for an anchor, something to let her know she was still alive even if for a moment. She was met with skin, of who’s she did not know, and the ghost of a smile pressed her lips. She did not know, but her fingers skimmed the pale skin of Lucifer himself, the love that had in turn given her a child to love. From love she had birthed love.

“ _Morn_... _Star_...” was all she could manage in a whisper of pure unfiltered happiness, before her chest fell, her breathing halting all together.

Her heart had stopped. She was silent.

She looked so peaceful, even in death.


	12. Starlight and Endless Nights

“We’ve been here before, haven’t we?”

The voice, disembodied, floating, was gentle and ethereal.

“Yes,” she responded, familiar with where she was. Who she was speaking to was no mystery either. 

“It doesn’t get any easier the second time, does it? Then again, I suppose it was two seperate versions of yourself. This is your first time.”

Lilith spoke through a smile, a humour only for the both of them to enjoy. This was an experience they had shared, and it was one they could see in some better, less heavy light. This place, Lilith’s voice, it all became part of a déjà vu dream state that she couldn’t quite grasp or comprehend, not yet.

“Am I staying here? This time?” She asked, a tremor in her voice that did not go unnoticed.

“Well, should you truly pass, you won’t be here. You’ll go up and join the angels, walk among them. 

For now you’re here, talking to me. Did you die last time we spoke?” 

“No. I didn’t.”

Lilith didn’t respond, she simply nodded in knowing, not divulging any information further than that. A small hum resonated from Lilith as she peered around the space they occupied. 

“One day, I will sit with you and share with you the wonders of **us**. Who we are, and what I have seen through the many thousands of years leading up to _you_.”

She frowned, unsure of what Lilith meant, assumptions dancing in her mind.

“One day?”

Lilith, with eyes bright and hopeful, and a smile as calm as still water, gave a small laugh to herself, reaching out her fingers.

“Yes, one day. There is somewhere you are needed. Go, you will see me again someday.”

With these parting words, Lilith’s fingertips touched upon the forehead of her only company, and all was gone.

Lilith was gone, and she was alone in a kind and comforting darkness. 

Waiting.

...

When their wings were white and their souls walked among the clouds, the six brothers had never known pain. Their carefree existences seemingly had no end, days filled with the sweet melodic laughter of angels.

They had walked upon starlight and played between the beams of the moon, in a realm entirely their own, filled with beauty and free of the agonies of the human and demon world.

When they were stripped of their wings and cast from the heavens, and especially when Lilith died, pain was all they knew.

It seemed now, many, many years later, and with new loss striking them down in a mighty and furious blow, pain was their best and only friend.

A name repeatedly echoed through the bathroom, screamed by a demon too emotionally beaten and bruised to hold back tears. Lucifer had well and truly lost himself to his grief, immediately after signs of her life had left. 

It was his sister, all over again. It seemed everything he loved and held dear died in his arms, died without a hope of a saviour. He had done this, and this time there was no pledge of loyalty he could make, no one he could hand himself over to for her to be saved. There was nothing Lucifer could do.

Mammon had stood, hands in paper white hair, flecks of red easily tainting the tips, wobbly lips and thick tears smeared over his features. He was reminded of when Belphegor had killed a version of her, one that felt so real. Or, rather, one that **had** been real. Mammon has held her close as she took her last breath, and back then it was hard enough. 

This was her now. No Barbatos, no new timeline. He watched her die all over again, knowing she was really, truly gone. Mammon was greedy. He wanted her alive. He wanted all the many years a human life could offer and so very many more.   


Satan could do nothing but stare in silence, unbelieving of what he saw. How could she just be dead. How could so much joy and love just _die_ alongside her? To Satan, she contained a world full of light that was not belonging to the angels or demons, but one truly of her own. It was a light he would never see, and this was a night that would never yield to a day. There were no stars in this sky, and no moonbeams to play between.   
He would be in this darkness forever, without the light within her.

They all would.


	13. Broken Rules

Simeon skidded to the doorway and latched onto it for stability, quickly pouring over the image of three grieving demons. It was like nothing he’d ever seen before; the darkness of the night outside could not compare to that which was reflected in their eyes. They were truly without hope.

Simeon could not dwell on their sorrow, however. There was something he had something he had to try.

Quickly taking Lucifer’s shoulder and gently casting him aside, Simeon knelt before her chest and took a shaky breath inward. 

He acted not on a well, thoroughly thought out decision, but a whim, a split second that would define their **entire** lives, as many split second decisions did.

“All of you move back, and cover your eyes,” he warned, his hands gingerly overlapping upon her chest. The nerves in his voice were unmistakable. 

A voice screamed in his head. He shouldn’t be doing this, he shouldn’t even be _attempting_ this. 

If this worked, his life as a celestial would change forever. 

But watching the life fall away from her eyes was unbearable, in a way Simeon had felt before, in the raging of the celestial war.

All three demon men complied, trusting Simeon and his ways although being impossibly intrigued by whatever he had up his sleeve. They backed up and covered their eyes, all wondering the same thing: What could he **possibly** do to remedy the situation?

It started soft as an ember, a glow from beneath her skin, flickering and waving, before growing brighter and stronger. An incredible shine illuminated the room, emanating from her chest and touching all it could reach. Simeon’s hands shook, knowing he was doing something very wrong, something forbidden. 

He was choosing to tamper with the lifespan of a human, something that shouldn’t have worked, but did.  
  


For what he had done, was he had reached into the depths of her DNA and tapped into the remnants of the angels, hoping that it would work. It was that, or it was nothing. He would rather try something, anything, than let nothing be done at all.

His power as one of the eldest of the celestial realm was great, as well as one that was rare. He had the ability to heal his brethren of his home realm, and revive their eternal lives just as his Father had the ability to, and gifted to him. This came as a result of the celestial war, an ability that Simeon used many times over in those times, but had not needed to use for thousands of years.

He thanked anything and everything he could that the lives of the angels ran through her blood, otherwise she would have truly been lost.

The light began to die, but she began to breathe. It was choked, a gasp, as if she’d just been pulled to the surface after drowning. She did not wake, but she was breathing, alive.

Simeon straightened, his hands before him like they were foreign, **corrupted**. He wanted to be in disbelief but he knew he couldn’t, because he’d chosen to do this, and he did not regret saving the life of his friend.

Lucifer scooped her head and body gently, holding her to him without intention of letting go. He whispered to her, rocking her and letting his tears be unseen, only soaked into her matted and sweaty hair. 

She did not respond, but hoping she would eventually was enough for the boys to be able to release the breath they’d held while hiding their eyes.

He then looked up to Simeon, with a fear Simeon could not pinpoint. It was a fear he did not expect, and therefore could not recognise. Lucifer feared for Simeon.

“You...you altered her lifespan...” Lucifer blurted, a shaky feeling within his heart. “But Simeon, you’ll-“

“I hoped that there was enough angel left in her diluted blood to be able to revive her as I do the angels above. I’m also hoping it’s enough for Father to see why I was able to do what I did, and why I chose to do so.”

Lucifer sighed, hoping the same, unknowing of the fact that Simeon did not expect forgiveness at all. He knew his Father’s anger, he’d seen it, and was not at all wanting to be on the receiving end, but fearing the worst.

As they felt relief wash over their bodies, her life newly restored but hanging on, Asmodeus slowly peeked through the doorway, beckoning the others.

“You all might want to see this,” he alluded in reference to the baby, before his eyes caught a glimpse of her on the floor unconscious. “Oh, is she alright? Is she going to be okay? I assumed you all _saved_ her but...but...did she...” His tone took a more serious note, no longer hiding behind the wall with the lighthearted attempt at a diffusion but standing in full view, baby in arms asleep and horror across his beautiful sculpted face.

“Yes. She did. 

But I was able to pull her back. I don’t know if she’s okay. She will not wake for an unknown amount of time and I’m unsure if she’s stable. I feel had I left it any longer she would have been lost,” Simeon explained with a sigh, his chest heaving in exhaustion. He wanted to wipe his forehead, as if to wipe away what felt like a headache, but instead asked Mammon to turn on the shower. He dipped his hands under the cold water, ridding his arms of the crimson she’d spilled, watching it cover the shower floor before he turned off the shower and then faced the others.

“Someone should clean her, and then put her to bed. We can’t very well leave her in all this.”

Lucifer nodded curtly, while Asmodeus turned to Simeon and passed him the child. 

Simeon could not stop looking at his hands. Those hands of his that had restored her, had saved her.

The hands of his that had defied his Father whom he loved so dearly. He looked at the child, his mind ringing with words from his Father, knowing something, but feeling too flustered to bring it out into the open for the others to hear. Not yet. He would internalise the information for now.

“I’ll help wash her up,” Asmodeus began, earning a look from the others. “Not because I want to see her in a state of undress! Of course, it would be _nice_ , but I’d rather her be awake for all that fun. No, I brought some shampoos and what not from home, she may be unconscious but she still deserves beautiful hair and soft skin.” 

Nobody could argue with his logic, especially when it was so harmless and caring. The others filed out of the room, not wanting to crowd the area, while Lucifer undressed her and Asmodeus got the bath ready, retrieving his products and turning an average bath into a fragrant, relaxing sea of pink and white, one he was sad she could not enjoy. Lucifer made delicate work of cleaning her skin and her body, while Asmodeus massages his fingers through her hair and taking time to reach every strand.

Lucifer could not deny the shaking in his hands, unable to feel the weight pressing down on his chest lighten. She was almost gone, a spirit walking a realm he could not reach. He hadn’t had time to process her death when she was brought back to life, and although glad she was alive, safe, there was something to be said about the haunting feeling of loss that invaded his senses all over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Sorry for the delayed update, I wanted you to dwell on the situation and feel it to it’s full effect. I hope it worked! That may sound a bit evil of me, and I do apologise, but I believe it was needed, as things are about to get very, very interesting ;)
> 
> -Heaven


	14. Take My Hand, Save My Soul

She wasn’t waking up. _Why wasn’t she waking up_? It had been a week, and still she lay so perfectly still in her bed, hair rippled out either side of her gorgeous face, hands folded. She looked as if she were sleeping, so beautifully soft and restful. The boys refused to leave her side, waiting for the moment she awoke, concerned at how long it was taking.

Simeon, Luke and Asmodeus cared for the child, learning from human internet how to decently care for a small human, and hoping it would be the same for this baby, so different and so unique.

Nobody else was brave enough to dare interact with it, not afraid of what it was (of which they did not know, but could only assume) but afraid of what **they** were. As demons, children were not so much part of their repertoire. They were far too cautious that they would undeniably mess up somehow, scarring the child for life. The only ones with soft enough touches were the angels, and of course the gentle-when-needed Asmo.

But that’s not to say the others were not curious. On the contrary, Satan, Leviathan, Mammon and even Belphegor were no stranger to peering into the crib of the tiny infant, studying its features and ever so curious. They never stayed too long, however, lest they be rowdy and incur the wrath of a woken baby, something they’d been warned against in all the media they’d consumed into the lead up to the birth.

As the sun lit up the sky, and it blazed in tones of orange and pink, Mammon sat in the lounge room, watching human television alongside Satan and eating human food, an experience he never thought he’d have. Leviathan also sat with them, and having decided what they would watch, was deeply fascinated with the anime he had decided they would view. Human anime was surprisingly not so different from the content he watched in Devildom, although he could not say human anime was completely foreign to him. He’d of course seen it before, but being in the position to watch it without limits was almost invigorating.

“So let me get this straight, they all have powers and this kid didn’t but now he does?” Mammon questioned, his face stuffed with potato chips, frowning at Levi.

“Have you been paying attention at all? Yes, that seems to be the story. They’re all high school kids learning to be heroes.”

Satan piped up, surprisingly intrigued with the show as well.

“If I were part of this world, I’d want the powers of fire and ice, they seem quite practical.”

“No way! You’d be that angry guy, blowing’ stuff up and being angry all the time!” Mammon chuckled, Leviathan struggling to hold back his own snicker.

“I’m not angry all the time, I’m actually quite calm more often than. Besides, Mammon, you would be that pathetically desperate little purple boy, seeing as you-“   
  


Satan wasn’t given the chance to finish, as a knock on her door halted their speaking, and tore them from the show. The wonder was unanimous, a shared feeling that lingered in the air and caused a hesitation to long to be ignored.

When the door was finally opened by Levi, a familiar and towering figure greeted them, in a low voice that seemed shy, or perhaps embarrassed.

Because Beel was embarrassed. Embarrassed that it had taken this long for him to visit her. Embarrassed that he hadn’t been there with them when she finally got that thing out of her body. Embarrassed he was so weak in the face of her pain, practically abandoning her. It was written all over his face.

“ **Beel**!” Mammon cried, jumping up and landing a playful punch on his arm. “You finally came!” The surprise in his visit wasn’t as overwhelming as it probably should have been. After all, the four of them collectively figured that he would be around eventually. He got so sad when she wasn’t around, so hungry, and it had been clear to see her time in Devildom changed Beel for the better.

“Where is she?” Was all he could ask in return, earning a glance between the three brothers.

“Beel, she‘s...not _awake_. She hasn’t woken up since Simeon revived her.”

Beel was taken aback for a second, this information new and overwhelming. Lucifer had been updating him, messages on Beel’s D.D.D that were never answered piling up, but these messages stopped suddenly one day. Instead, Beel had gotten a message from Belphie, who had simply told him she was birthing the child. Even Belphie, his twin and his closest brother, had been unable to update Beel, being so worried about her and her state of living. 

Beel hadn’t even known she’d died, let alone been revived.

“Wait, Simeon revived her? Isn’t that-“

“Against their rules? Yes. We’re all a bit on edge,” Satan finished grimly, before pointing down the hall. “She’s down there. If you want a moment alone with her, just tell the others. I’m sure they’d give it to you.”

Beel nodded a silent thank you, and made haste down the hall, even managing to somehow ignore the human food scattered across the lounge. When he reached her room, and saw her laying there, he was forcefully pulled back to a time in life where she slept in his bed, holding his hand and fighting off the nightmares. She looked like she was sleeping, and it calmed him a little bit. He wondered what she was dreaming, if she dreamed in this state at all. It wasn’t remotely possible a face so at peace could be having a nightmare.

Lucifer turned, feeling and hearing his brother’s presence. The melancholy happiness that glinted in his eyes gave Beel the impression that she’d been this way for a while, and that Lucifer was happy Beel was here to also watch over her. Lucifer looked as if he had been up day and night without a wink of sleep, watching, waiting, holding his breath for the moment her eyes fluttered open. 

“Beelzebub, thank you. When she wakes up, she’ll be **so** happy to see you here.”

“ _When_...?” 

Lucifer’s strained smile dropped slowly, giving a slight shake of his head and crossing his arms over his body, almost hugging himself. Beel wondered if this was his way of holding himself together.

“I’d rather dwell in positivity than in the cynical thought pattern I’m used to. She’d want that. It’s...new, for me. But not entirely unwelcome.”

There was no arguing with that. She would want that, she’d only want all the brothers to be happy and await her return to them. Seeing his brother bask in some newfound light of hope made Beel warm on the inside. It was all he wanted for any of his brothers, because it’s what they, and she, gave to him.

Belphegor, who sat in the room, stood and embraced his twin with tight and longing arms, before pulling back and smiling. 

“Did you want some time alone with her Beel?” 

Belphie knew exactly what to say, exactly what Beel wanted. Of course he did, their bond was strong. Still, Beel found relief in the fact that he didn’t have to ask himself, and simply said ‘ _yes_ ’, looking past Belphegor and to her. 

The two brothers that resided in the room waited not a moment longer to leave, and allow him the space to take in her. He had been gone for so long, needed time to process her life in the past couple of months, it was only fair he have the time to catch up, albeit without reciprocation from her side.

Beel was slow, at first, afraid that if he sat beside her, even touched her, she would shatter. She was so delicate, so human, he only wanted to see her protected.

“I’m...I’m sorry I didn’t come to see you,” Beel began, unable to find the words to properly express how sorry he was for abandoning her, something she would never do to him. “You don’t deserve this, any of this.” 

Faintly, somewhere further in the house, Beel could hear a crying. It was high pitched, and followed with a string of hushed coos and words he could not make out.

“I guess the child is okay. I wonder if they look like you,” Beel mused to her unconscious figure, now sitting on the bed beside her. “I bet it does. Anything from you would have to look as adorable as you, right?”

These were the words he could never say, not to her face while she was awake enough to comprehend them. 

He gently took her hand, feeling at home as soon as he intertwined his fingers with hers, and laid down on the bed. He didn’t lay too close to her, still afraid of her fragility, but looking at the ceiling, far too long for the bed of a human, but content enough to make it work. This state of being was enough to make him sleepy, as if he’d been internally programmed to associate her warmth and her hold with sleep. He could feel it overcoming him, and he didn’t fight it. He didn’t want to, now that he was guaranteed a decent night’s sleep by her side.

“Will you fight the nightmares away for me?” He yawned, before letting his eyes close and letting sleep slowly approach him. 

“I missed having you chase them away.”


	15. Swallowed by Light

Her time with Lilith seemed so painfully short and brief, and her wait all alone in the dark was also of this nature.

Yet, unbeknownst to her, that encounter had dragged her through days of unconsciousness, time being irrelevant to the space she was in.

She seemed forever in pitch black, until something far off invaded the empty space. It was light, the size of a pinhole. She couldn’t even hope to reach it, but she didn’t need to, as it got closer to her. She squinted, the brightness reaching an unbearable state, engulfing her body. Soon, everything was covered in it, and she hid her eyes from the light.

There was a heavy feeling. Her eyelids, particularly, had a hard time finding the will to move. One hand felt a strange pressure, one that was absent from her other hand. Finally, with some effort, her eyes opened, and she was met with a familiar sight. Her bedroom ceiling, unchanged and welcoming. Her heart calmed within its confines, the fact that she was at home bringing her a sense of tranquility.

The heaviness in her hand persisted, and as she came more to her senses, she recognised it to be a hand, one she’d held many times before.

“ _B...Beel_?” She rasped out, in a voice that had not been used in just over two weeks. To her, it was just yesterday since she’d fallen unconscious. In an attempt to wake her companion, unable to get the full mobility of turning her head yet, she squeezed his hand, hoping it would be enough to alert him of her presence.

Beel, at first, thought it was his imagination. The all too well known squeeze of his hand, one she would use to wake him up before breakfast back in Devildom, was so soft, so weak, he must have been imagining it. His sleepy eyes lulled open slightly, merely checking on her sleeping form. 

Yet, as soon as he saw her, he knew he hadn’t imagined it.

He gasped, sitting up on his elbow and stuttering her name. It was mixed in with an incredulous laugh, as his large hands gently took her cheek and turned her to face him. Her eyes were wide open, tired and weary but glinting with life. 

He felt the tears before he could stop them, and in order to hide them, buried his head in her shoulder. He pulled her close and wrapped both long arms around her significantly smaller body, as it was still finding its bearings, but able to move just enough to embrace him loosely. She let out a coarse, slow laugh, enjoying how warm he was, how much he felt like home, more so than her actual home.

“Beel I didn’t think you’d come,” she forced out, and Beel pulled her back and gently laid her down, watching her eventually find movement throughout her body, regaining strength rapidly.

“I...I wasn’t going to. But I felt...guilty. I left you. Abandoned you when you were going through something really painful. I blamed Lucifer, almost hated him. **He** did this to you.”

Beel took a moment. His gaze broke from hers, out the window, onto the world. He couldn’t say the words he meant while looking into her captivating eyes, his blush would go more wild than it already was.

“But I realised it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. He didn’t know this could ever happen. I can’t blame him for being with you like that. If I had the chance, I would have done the exact same. Held you and never let you go. I had to see you. I didn’t, for so long, I couldn’t make myself, I was so _weak_ -”

Her hand raised up to his cheek, and her smile brought him happiness he’d lost for so long. His words faded on the tip of his tongue, their sad taste melting away with her touch.

“You’re here now, and that’s what really matters to me.”

He basked in the feeling of her, covering his hand with his and rubbing his face into it. 

“I should tell the others you’re awake. I don’t want to...I want to be selfish and spend a little longer alone with you. But I can’t, I can’t do that to you or them.” 

With a content smile and a renewed feeling in his heart, Beel jumped up and backed away to the door, leaning out of it backward and booming out throughout the apartment.

“Guys! Come quickly!”

She was finally awake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all.  
> I first wanted to give to you all my most sincere and heartfelt thank you, as your kind words and encouragement have given me the push to keep this work going. It is still going, and I have a plan for the entire work.  
> However, I wish to inform you all that updates may start to come a little slower than my usual pace, and for that I am incredibly sorry. I am currently a university student, and my new semester is about to start, so I will have a lot to focus on! I will still update the story as regularly as possible but thought you, the supporters of this work, deserved an explanation.
> 
> Thank you for your continuing support, and I wish you all the best in your own endeavours. I hope you all continue to enjoy this work that I hold so dearly.
> 
> -Love, Heaven


	16. In Their Eyes I See You

It was as if time had stopped completely. For the second time in a month, Lucifer felt the life drain from him, only this time, it was in pure bliss. 

The others stopped their actions, and at first, nobody moved. It almost felt too good to be true, her sudden waking being the stuff of dreams. All brothers looked to Lucifer, waiting for his movement, a word, something to indicate he was still in fact alive. Instead, while Lucifer stood as still as death, their attention was caught by Luke, who could be seen through the door way. He looked out to them all, and then up to Beel, who stood beside him. In Luke’s arms, cradled gently and with care, was the baby.

Through all the pain, Lucifer did not forget about that thing that had come out of her. He hadn’t even glimpsed at it, let alone held it. He couldn’t bring himself to.  
Even now, he felt only resentment when he looked at the swaddled bundle, but knew deep down there was nothing he could do. 

She’d survived, and because she’d survived, she was going to fall in love with that strange mistake they’d both made together from their love. She would readily take on the role of a mother, whereas he was unsure it was even possible he be a father.

  
Luke said nothing, but stepped back once. He allowed the boys the chance to say hello first, before taking the child in.

Lucifer finally found the will to move, the ability to drag one foot before the other and bring himself to her room.

She was so soft, so beautiful. Life truly became her, and he was glad it hadn’t been stolen from her. Rushing to her side, his knees gave way beside her bed, and he clutched her hand. 

“I th-thought...” he gasped out, the sadness in his eyes so tangible and real, it almost suffocated her.

“I thought so too,” she let out hoarsely, smiling at him and taking his face in her hand.  
“I saw her again.”

Those last words were a whisper, but he heard them loud and clear. 

“She told me it wasn’t my time, in a bit of a round about way.”

“That sounds like her,” Lucifer chuckled in response, giving small kisses to her fingertips. He thanked Lilith within the privacy of his mind.  


Mammon rubbed the back of his neck and looked away, as the rest of them found somewhere to be within the room, somewhere they could bask in the fact she was alive and seemingly well.

“Took ya long enough to wake up,” he mumbled, unable to admit the pure relief that coursed through his demon physiology, red tint masking his cheeks in a blush. “Not like we missed you or anything. It’s just if you had of kicked the bucket you’d be up in the celestial realm and it’d be a pain to try and sneak up there to see you.”

She simply smiled, her unoccupied hand reaching for Mammon’s hand, unsurprised when he took it without looking at her. The others could see Mammon’s blush deepen with her touch.  
  
  


Her smile was short lived, when her mind began to fully settle into the state of being awake, and she slowly raised her body.  
A panic set in, one that the others were waiting in anticipation for, knowing it was only a matter of time before her maternal instincts kicked in and she was to her senses.

She let go of the hands she’d held and stabilised herself in a sitting position, the lingering feeling of wooziness still yet to completely rid her mind.

“Where’s the baby?” She whispered, horrified at herself for temporarily letting it slip her mind that she’d given birth. In the midst of her talk with Lilith and being alone in the darkness, everything that had happened beforehand felt like a fever dream. “Is it a boy or a girl? Is it okay? Did it make it? Is it-“ her questions gained speed, as she spat them out and her heart only began to beat faster. Multiple voices and hands hushed her, comforted her.

“He’s-“ Asmodeus started, having joined them when Beel had called out. He was unable to finish, however, as he was interrupted by a small voice. She recognised it as Luke’s.

“Here. He’s here.” 

Everyone parted, and the vision of Luke holding a swaddled bundle in his arms filled her senses. It was all she could focus on, all she could give mind to. Everything and everyone else faded into her periphery, and she reached her arms out. Luke obliged, carrying to her the small baby who she’d now learnt was a little baby boy.

Lucifer was tense as he watched Luke carry over the child, watched her trembling arms take the baby in her lap and a shaky hand move to see more of him. He didn’t know what to expect, nor how he’d react when first seeing this creation of her and himself.

Both Lucifer and her shared a moment of shock when the baby was uncovered, the sort that seeped into their bones and had their world feeling like it was swaying.

He was _beautiful_. 

As much pain as he had put Lucifer through, he could not deny the child was truly a wonder. He fell to his knees once more beside the bed, leaning in to study his features and find out more about the curiosity he’d been so eager to push away.

Her gentle fingers delicately swept over his sleeping face, the plump pale cheeks and the small pout on his lips. He had white hair yet dark roots, reminiscent of his fathers hair. He looked like her when she slept, Lucifer noted, and pondered if maybe that was the reason he couldn’t bring himself to despise the child she held. Every ounce of regret and anger Lucifer had was banished at the sight of this little life he’d helped create.

These simple features of hair and skin were not the first things to catch the attention of this baby’s mother and father, however. Her fingers trailed up the side of his face and into his hair, where she ever so carefully ran her fingers over a bump on his head.

Not a bump.

A horn.  
Their little baby had two horns, ivory in colour and scored with little ringed indents around them, again familiar with his fathers demon horns. They couldn’t be bigger than an inch, perhaps an inch and a half, and they sat just slightly diagonal from his ears, nestled atop his head somehow so perfectly.

“He‘s a demon...” Lucifer mused aloud, reaching a hand out to caress the child but hesitating, unable to find the happy medium between comfortable with this child and wary of the dangers he’d posed to a person Lucifer truly cared for.

“Not _quite_.”

Simeon’s voice rang out in a room thick with inquisitiveness, not just from Lucifer and her, but all seven brothers.

They all looked to Simeon, and even Asmodeus- who aside from Simeon had shared the most time with the child- had confusion written across his face.

“I believe the child is only half demon,” Simeon began. 

She nodded in response, finishing his sentence in a tone of understanding.

“Right, and half human because of me.”

“No.”

She cocked her head to the side slightly, flicking a glance toward the baby and then back to Simeon. Not half human? But then, half what?

“No?”

“I believe,” Simeon had approached the bed and sat beside her, opposite Lucifer and looking to the child with eyes warm and fond. “The child is half demon, half angel. Your human blood would not be compatible with demon blood, and this baby may have been born under very different circumstances, or may not have even survived past birth. But, with your very distant angel blood, and the genes of an angel turned demon,” he gestured to Lucifer, who stared at him with intrigue, hanging onto every word.

“I believe that is how this child came to be. Look,” Simeon seemed to be pointing to the blanket, until he used his finger to shift the blanket.

Tucked under the baby, hiding between a bundle of blanket and soft cradling, were two small, pure white wings. He was the vision of a heavenly cherub. They were as soft as his newborn skin, feathers tiny and fluffed, rustling ever so slightly.

“That’s why he has these. And I suspect why his horns are a purer colour than other demons, but also why he has horns in the first place. I think he embodies the purity of angels, and the flaws and imperfect nature of demons. He is an in between, just like the humans, yet I suspect he will be more powerful.”

As they talked over his mere existence, the baby stirred, silencing them all with a yawn and a stretch. They could talk over what he was more later on, for now, her only care in the entire world was this one little moment, this fateful and precious moment between her and the child she’d carried.

His little eyelids gave way to a pair of crimson eyes, just like Lucifer’s, and all breath left in her chest fled her body entirely.

It was clear to see on her face, she was completely taken away with this child of hers, of theirs. Her hand absently looked for Lucifer’s while she continued gazing lovingly at the baby, and tears fell past her cheeks. They held hands, Lucifer unable to deny the shine in this baby’s eyes and the way it made Lucifer feel like he was so much more than just a demon.

“Hello my Little Morningstar,” she whispered, connecting eyes with the child. Looking into his eyes felt like her whole life had lead up to this moment, and holding him the way she did made her feel like her arms were crafted to hold him.

Never ones to admit such a thing, the brothers in the room, and even the angels, all felt a little bit of their emotions melt away with the genuine care and adoration she exuded, one that was seemingly infectious. 


	17. Dark Times

The mirror reflected a man he’d very quickly grown to hate. It was a feeling he wasn’t used to, a feeling that wrapped around his mind like the snake of Eden. Maybe these demons had a bigger influence on him than he himself could perceive, but whatever it was, Simeon did not feel himself.

Gripping the sink, he kept staring back into the eyes of what seemed to be a stranger. His heart was torn in two, divides equally between his divine creation and the people he’d grown to love.

Water dropped from his dark hair, the wet-look so different on him, so unfamiliar. The strands clung together and stuck to his skin, over his eyes and glinted in the light. It was messy, unkempt, but somehow...otherworldly. He looked beautiful, dark and handsome and he could _admit_ it to himself. He looked like sin. And he **liked** it.  


He’d never had thoughts like that before.   
Was this...pride? Was he following in the footsteps of Lucifer? Maybe it was lust, and his time with Asmodeus were to be regretted. 

His thoughts wandered over his own image, admiring himself, his water splashed face and soaked hair, before he remembered himself, and shook them away. 

No.

He would not be distracted from the matter at hand.

  
What he had to do and what he wanted to were polar opposites. The voice in his head, unaware of if it was his own or his heavenly Father’s, reminded him.

_** ‘You know what you must do, Simeon.’ ** _

What he must do. Why did he _have_ to do it anyway? Why was he bound to the tasks set out for him? It was like a chain around his neck, beckoning him to an outcome he didn’t want. Why did he listen to his Father, even when Simeon suspected his decisions to be the wrong ones?

This was something he’d never questioned before. 

Abandoning the bathroom, finding no answers in the mirror or in his own eyes, he instead searched for them on the balcony, staring up into the night sky. The moon was so mysterious and so bright, he wished it would swallow him up, ridding him of his responsibilities and concerns. That, he felt, was greed.

The voice again called in his kind, urging him and taunting him.

_** ‘If you cannot do it, I will send someone else to do so in your place.’ ** _

This was certainly not his own voice.

He knew what he had to do.   


  
But could he do it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will be going on a short two week hiatus. Think of the next chapter as a part two to this story. Things are about to get heavy and I want to write a good portion of it out before sharing it with you. All I can say? 
> 
> Be ready.
> 
> -Heaven.


End file.
